Bag tying machine



June 5, 1951 J. F. SMITH BAG TYING MACHINE Filed Feb. 28, 1947 3 SheetS-Sheet l amamant-lll"manmummmmmuuul:um:mmnulmmw""" lNvENToR www June 5, 1951 A 1. F. SMITH BAG TYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 28, 1947 Flg. 3.

IN VENTO R w Ef. -S Wi June 5, 1951 J. F. SMITH BAG TYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 28, 1947 INVENTOR yam Patented June 5, 1951 BAG TYING .MACHINE John F. Smith, Quincy, Mass., assignor to Jacobs Manufacturing Company,'Boston, Mass.

.Application February 28, 1947, Serial No. 731,571

This invention relates to a machine for tying bag ties and more particularly toa power operated machine having provisions for presenting a wire tie to the tying members.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a bag tying machine having improved performance and which is relatively cheap to construct, simple and economical to operate, and which reduces operator fatigue.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a bag tying machine having an improved tie feeding device which allows a tie to be deposited upon the tying fingers after the neck of the bag to be tied ,is positioned, thus avoidingt lifting of the bag upward to place the neck thereof behind the tie.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic tie feed, the chute of which is normally positioned remote from the tie engaging ends of the tying members so as to leave the `operating zone clear .and unobstructed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bag tying machine having an automatic tie feeding device which is operated by mere placement of .a bag in position to be tied, to eject a tie and deliver it to the tying members.

.Other objects of the invention Iwill in `part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the Vaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a bag tying machine embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. l, certain parts being omitted for the sake of clarity and other parts being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken substantially .along lines `l-I of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partialplan view of the tie engaging ngers as positioned during the tying` or twisting operation; and,

Fig. 5 is .a schematic wiring diagram of the electrically operative parts of the machine.

Referring to the drawings `and rst to Fig. 1 thereof, my improved machine comprises a frame I which is adapted .to rest upon'a floor and to support the casting having the upstanding bearing columns I,2.and I3.

A shaft I4 is journalled in the `bearing columns I2 and I3 and secured to one end thereof `bya set screw isa h ead .I to A.which the tie engaging and twisting ngers I6 and IT' are pivoted by 4i Claims. (01.1140-93) means of the screws I8. 'Ihe tie engagingrends I9 of the ngers `are rounded to prevent Vinjury to an operator and.to the bags to `be operated upon and are also provided with the slots .'20 which engage with a tie T to hold the tiewhile the fingers are rotated to twist the tie as; hereinafter explained.

The fingers |6 and il are provided withthe rearward .extensions 2| and 22 into which are threaded the set screws 23.and A24 `which serve toadjust the width of the ilnger spacing and to act as stops to maintain the desired spacing. The spring 25 serves tobias the tie engaging ends. I9 `of the ingersaWay from each other.

At each side of the bearing column .I2 lthe shaft. I4 is provided with .the thrust washers '216.

The shaft I4 is adapted to `be rotated asthe neck of a bag is pulled against `a tie held in the slots 20 `in the ends I9 of the iingers. This is accomplished by providing a free running pulley 2l which is constantly rotated upon the shaft |4 by the belt .28 driven by the motor.29. One end of the pulley is provided with a friction facing 30 which, when the shaft I4 is pulledto theleft as viewed inFigs. land 3 by engagement of the bag with the tie, is engaged by a clutch disc 3| held to the shaft i4 by the set screw32.

The clutch disc 3| and the friction facing 30 are biased 4from each other by .the spring '33 which surrounds the shaft I4 and which is confined within the counterbored Dockets (irland 35 formed in the clutch ,disc and pulley.

A stop mechanism is provided to stop the shaft L4 with `the fingers I6 and Il in a horizontal plane. A crank 3.6 `is secured to the shaft I4 by the. set screwfl and the crank pin38 is threaded `into the crank and passes through aconnecting link .39 to `whichaspring .401s hooked. The other end Aof the spring .126 is hooked to a stud 4| threaded .to the casting Li. The stop collar `4.2 secured to the shaft by thesetscrew lili, is prow ,vided with .aslot 44 which .engages a stop dog 45 threaded into the bearing columnl 3.

When the .shaft I4 is pulled forwardly `to engage the clutch disc 3| to cause the shaft to rotate, .the slot `d4 of the collar 42 is withdrawn from engagement with the stop dog 45. As frictional .engagement `is .established and the shaft is rotated to twist the tie T `drawn about `the bag B the spring `All) is constantly ileXed. vAfter the tie is sufiiciently twisted, the operator releases `tension .upon theshaft and the spring 33 separates the-frictionface and clutchdisc forcing thecollar 42 .towardsthestop,.dogi45. The spring 40 serves to align the shaft I4 so that the fingers enseres f' I6 and I1 are in a horizontal plane and the slot 44 of the collar 42 engages with the stop dog 45.

The bracket 49, which is secured by the screws 50 to the bearing column I3, is bifurcated at its upper end to form arms I to receive a reel R of tie wires which rests upon an arbor 52 held in the slots 53 formed in the arms 5 I. The tie wires, which are of standard manufacture, have an eye formed on each. end thereof and the eyes are threaded upon wires W allowing the ties to be reeled.

The bracket 55 is secured to the bearing column I2 by the screws 56 vand the upper end thereof is bored to receive the rod 51 which is held in place by a set screw 58. Y

The feed chute comprises angle bars 59 and 80 which are spaced, laterally to form a slot 48 do'wn which the tie wires are fed by gravity, and longitudinally to suit the length of the ties, by the straps 6I and 82 which are riveted thereto. The feed chute is pivotally mounted on the rod 51 for free swinging movement towards and away vfrom the tie engaging ends I9 of the figures IE and I1. The lever 68 is also pivoted on the rod 51 and a spring Bil serves to bias both the lever and the feed chute to a position away from the tie engaging'ends of the lingers.

The leverl 63 is provided with the extending ears 85 which are bored to receive a rod 65 having a handle 61 by which the lever and feed chute can be moved to dispense a tie to the fingers. The lever 63 and feed chute are also arranged to be moved between operative and inoperative positions by a solenoid 68 which is pressed into a bore provided in the bracket 55. The solenoid is provided with a plunger 69 having stop collar 18 at one end and a clevis 1I at the other end to receive one end of a link 12 held in place by the clevis pin 13. The link 12 is pivoted at its other end to the ears 65 of the lever 63 by the rod 66.

The tie support rods are held by the set screws 11 in the bosses 16 formed on the bracket 55 and which extend substantially at righ-t angles to the tie feeding slot 48. The tie support rods extend only sufficient to allow a tie to drop over the rounded ends 18 thereof when the feed chute is moved towards the tie engaging end I9 of the fingers and is in alignment with the open ends of slots formed therein.

Mounted above the tie supporting rods 15, and secured by the screws 19 to the lever 63, are the tie separating angles 8U which are bevelled to a knife edge to allow them to enter between the first and second ties supported by the rods 15 as the lever 63 is moved by the handle 81 or by the solenoid 8S as later explained.

A bracket 8i is height-wise adjustably secured, by bolts not shown, to the frame I0. The bag supporting platen 82 is pivotally retained to the bracket by the pivot pin 83 and is normally biased 3 to an outwardly tilted position against a stop screw 84 by the spring 85.

The bag supporting platen is provided with an ear 86 having threaded therein a Screw 81 which is adapted to contact the operating button of a micro switch 88, secured to the bracket 8|, when the bag support is tilted rearwardly against the bias of the spring 85.

In operation of the above described machine the operator threads the wires W, upon which the ties are threaded, between the spacing bars of the feed chute and draws them downwardly until the feed chute is full of ties which rest upon Y the supporting rods 15 and preferably cuts the 4wires at a point above the supporting rods. A

`and dash lines in Fig. 1.

, 4' bag B, having its neck crimped in the usual manner, is loaded onto the bag supporting platen 82 and is tilted towards the machine so that the neck of the bag is received between the ngers I6 and I1. When the bag supporting platen is tilted sufficiently, the screw 81 contacts the switch 88 which, as shown in Fig. 5, closes the circuit and allows the solenoid 88 to be energized.

The solenoid plunger 69 then moves towards the operator and moves the lever 63 forwardly until the tie separating angles 88 enter between the first and second ties and then presses against the ties they then support until the complete feed chute moves to the position indicated in dot In this position, the tie below the'separating angles 80, which has been supported at a height sufficient to clear the neck of the bag, drops over the ends 18 of the supporting rods 15 and falls down the slot 48 in the feed chute until it is caught in the slots 20 formed in the ends I9 of the fingers I8 and I1.

The operator then tilts the bag B towards him which causes the solenoid to be deenergized and the feed chute to return to its rearward position under the influence of the spring 64. The ties in the feed chute then drop until they rest upon the supporting rods 15 again.

As the operator continues to tilt the bag B to the position shown in Fig. l, the tie is stretched around the neck of the bag, the shaft I4 is pulled forwardly engaging the friction clutch, and the fingers rotate to twist the tie as shown in Fig. 4.

After the ngers have made a few revolutions, the operator tilts the bag forwardly an amount sufficient to release the clutch and to disengage the ends of the tie from the slots 20 in the fingers but not suicient to again energize the solenoid 68.

As the feed chute is being constantly moved, the vibration tends to keep the ties feeding into the chute and several hundred ties may be used before the operator is required to again draw and cut the wires W upon which the ties are threaded.

It can readily be seen that the above described machine is rapid and efficient in accomplishing its purpose, and speeds production while lowering operator fatigue.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made -without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to Vfall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a machine for tying bag ties, the combination comprising rotatable tie engaging and twisting fingers, means for rotating said fingers, a feed chute for ties, said feed chute being pivoted at a point above said ngers, tie supporting members located in the path of ties in said feed Chute and adapted to support ties at a height sufficient to pass over the neck of a bag located between said fingers, a lever pivoted on the same axis as said feed chute, means on said lever for engaging between the tie resting on said supporting members and the tie above, it, and

means for moving said feed chute and lever about their pivot to carry the tie resting upon said supporting members over the neck of the bag located between said fingers, to release the tie from said supporting members and to deliver it to said fingers.

2. In a machine for tying bag ties, the combination comprising rotatable tie engaging and twisting fingers, means for rotating said fingers, a feed chute for ties, said feed chute being pivoted for swinging movement towards and away from the tie engaging ends of said fingers, tie supporting members located in the path of ties in said feed chute, a lever, said lever being pivoted on the same axis as said feed chute, means on said lever for engaging between the first two ties supported by said supporting means, means biasing said lever and said feed chute away from the tie engaging ends of said fingers, and means for moving said lever to cause said engaging means thereon to enter between the rst two ties supported by' said supporting means and to swing said feed chute towards the tie engaging ends of said fingers until the rst tie on said supporting means is released therefrom and is guided by said chute to said fingers.

3. In a machine for tying bag ties, the combination comprising a frame, tie engaging and twisting fingers rotatably mounted upon said frame, means operative to rotate said fingers, a feed chute for ties, said feed chute being pivoted for movement towards and away from the tie engaging ends of said fingers, means for supporting ties in said chute a height sufficient to -pass over` the neck of a bag placed between said ngers, means for ejecting a tie from said feed chute when it is moved towards the tie engaging ends of said ngers a distance sufficient to carry a tie over the neck of the bag, means biasing said feed chute away from the tie engaging ends of said fingers, a bag support located below said fingers, means rockably mounting said bag support upon said frame, and means operated by tilting said bag support in a direction to cause the neck of a bag placed thereon to enter'between said ngers, to cause said feed chute to move towards the tie engaging ends of said fingers.

4. In a machine for tying bag ties, the: combination comprising a frame, tie engaging and twisting fingers rotatably mounted upon said frame, means operative to rotate said lingers, a feed chute for ties, said feed chute being swingably mounted for movement towards and away from the tie engaging ends of said fingers, means for ejecting a tie from said feed chute as it is moved towards the tie engaging ends of said fingers, a solenoid arranged to move said feed chute, a bag support, said bag support being tiltably mounted upon said frame, a switch operative to energize said solenoid, and means dependent upon tilting of said bag support for operating said switch.

JOHN F. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ie of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,062,948 Bates May 27, 1913 1,074,587 Curry Sept. 30, 1913 1,099,275 Bates June 9, 1914 1,281,121 Bates Oct. 8, 1918 1,373,939 Bates Apr. 5, 1921 '1,502,114 Nelson July 22, 1924 

